Hillary Rodham Clinton: Trailblazing Excellence

Hillary Clinton is no stranger to political musical chairs. Recently, she has been a meteoric rise to tick yet another checkbox of firsts for the powerhouse. Since she took an interest in politics, she has been unstoppable, eliciting conversation stemming from some major calls she had to make.

Hillary Rodham Clinton was born to Hugh and Dorothy Emma Rodham on the 26th of October, 1947 in one of those towns you see on postcards. It could be argued that growing up with two brothers, may have played a role in making her as solid as she is now, although Anthony and Hugh Junior were younger than her.

Perhaps having a knack for grandiose while still young, she penned a letter to NASA to inquire about the possibility of being an astronaut. In a response that would perhaps be an affront to gender equality now, she was turned down for being a girl. The rejection might have been the first time she got turned down after declaring her intentions.

1969 was an interesting year for Miss Rodham. Not only did she gain the respect of peers and critics alike by being vocal against Senator Edward W. Brooke, but she also received her undergraduate degree in political science from Wellesley College. She immediately got into the prestigious Yale Law School where she was to get acquainted with her future husband Bill Clinton.

The hard calls

Hillary’s entrance into politics was nothing short of phenomenal. She dipped her feet in the murk in 2000 by being the first woman to become a New York senator. The next year, the US was hit by perhaps its biggest and subsequently most divisive tragedy, the 9/11 attacks.

She tried vying for the presidency seven years later. Despite garnering the highest number of delegates for a female candidate in US history, she still suffered defeat to Barrack Obama. She was made Secretary of State, instead, as Condoleezza Rice passed the mantle.

Her portfolio in office is peppered with calls that would easily make it into any history book. From voting against G.W Bush tax cuts to voting for military action against Afghanistan and Iraq, her career has been, to say the least, colorful and action packed. Her name can be traced among the shot callers in Libya’s war and the sanctions against Iran.

In 1996 and the following two years, she would go on to pen books, and in 2014, she brought her book tally to 5 with the addition of Hard Choices.

Whether you like her or not, Hillary Clinton has opened up a path for women in the US. She has blazed her way through the political ranks and is now a general election away from becoming the first female US president.